Julie Haney picked up the manila folder. Just a few inches thick, it felt small in her hands. Most files were far larger. As a special agent for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, she had years of experience with files like this one. This was a cold case – a death that left more questions than answers. The case was 5 years old. And it wasn’t just cold; it was closed.

Haney’s boss, just back from a conference on cold cases, handed it to her for one final review. It was February 2006. Inside the folder was a photograph of Cassandra Castens, a toddler with blue eyes and blond ponytails. In the photograph, Cassie wasn’t looking at the camera but off to her left. She was smiling but just barely. It may have been the last picture of her ever taken. Haney opened the file and started to read.

~ DID YOU KNOW? ~
By the time you finish reading this, 15 children will have been abused; In the next five minutes, 30 more; Within the next hour, 360 more; And by tonight, close to 8,000+ children will have suffered from abuse, 5 of which will die. Child abuse has increased 134% since 1980 and is now considered a worldwide epidemic. The high jump in child abuse deaths and the shocking increase in statistics highlights the frightening lack of public knowledge.